SUBJUGATION (3)

OLAMILEKAN:

The air was thick with foreboding as we took up our weapons and gear. The stench of blood and burned flesh was still in the air from the previous battle, but that wasn't this. This presence—it was suffocating, suffocating me. I felt it like something pressing on my chest.

"Ola, you've got a lock on it?" Joshua asked, his hands on the hilts of his twin swords.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's impossible not to. This thing. its aura is pure destruction. It feels ancient—like something that should've never existed."

"How the hell did we not notice something this strong before?" Dorian asked, fists clenched.

"It may have the power to hide its presence," Joshua suggested.

"If a beast can do that, it must be intelligent," Amira added, her voice uneasy.

I did not respond. I just continued on, senses alert, my sword humming with light energy clutched in my hand. And then I felt something. I raised my arm. "Stop."

We all crouched behind the high grass, silent. What we saw sent chills down my blood.

The monster stood at least fifteen feet high, gaunt and repulsive, with the hide stretched tightly over its bones like dried skin. It had no face. No eyes, no nose, no mouth—only smooth, unsettling blackness where they ought to have been. It was on one knee, shouting through a whirlwind, a scarlet gateway.

The voice that came out was like a knife being dragged across metal, harsh and ungentle.

"Kairin, don't let me down. Bring ruin to the humans. Destroy them all. The power I gathered to shatter the shackles that bind me—I left it in your care. Don't let me down."

Kairin's head snapped to one side in a rigid, unnatural movement. "Yes...my lord."

The voice continued. "And find the human who possesses my power."

The portal clanged shut and the beast—Kairin—was immobilized for an instant. Then, as if seeing us, it jerked its head in a revolting, unnatural twitch to turn toward our hiding place.

Every muscle in my body was stretched tight. We had concealed our energy. It shouldn't have sensed it. And yet…

Kairin vanished into a blur.

"Shit—" I managed to get out before it reappeared behind us.

"HUUUUMANS!" Its voice wasn't merely heard—it was felt, thudding around in my head, in my bones.

We all leaped backward, creating space between us, but terror had already begun to take root.

It lurched—twisted and distorted in an unnatural movement as it crawled toward us, its joints creaking like seasoned wood. I unsheathed my sword in a heartbeat, getting my footing ready, but before I could take a step, it vanished once more.

It reappeared right behind Amira.

"NO!" I exclaimed, running to catch it, but it was too fast.

Kairin's fist slammed into Amira's head with a sickening crunch. Her body went limp before she even hit the ground. Blood splattered everywhere, her head caved in, her lifeless eyes staring at nothing.

The world froze.

"Healer...gone," Kairin rasped. "Now...for the...rest."

Leila took a step back, trembling, horror twisting her features.

"No, no, no," she muttered. "This isn't real. This isn't—"

Kairin smiled, his faceless head somehow forming a grotesque, wide grin that stretched unnaturally, revealing rows of serrated teeth.

And then he vanished again.

"Leila, MOVE!" Joshua yelled.

I pushed forward, reaching out with my light swords to strike, but I wasn't fast enough.

He appeared behind her, gripping her shoulders. Before she could scream, his teeth sank into her neck, tearing her head from her body in one horrifying motion. Blood gushed like a waterfall as her lifeless corpse collapsed.

Silence. Only the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

Dorian took a step back, eyes wide, chest heaving. "We're fucked. We're so fucked."

Joshua's hands were shaking around his swords, his jaw clenched. "Ola, what the hell do we do?"

Kairin finished swallowing, turning its head toward us again, that horrifying smile still carved onto its faceless form.

"Next?"

Everything in me screamed to run. To get Joshua and Dorian out of here. But that wasn't an option. We had to fight.

I exhaled, forcing the fear down, gripping my sword tightly. My body hummed with energy. "We kill it."

Joshua let out a shaky breath, shifting into his stance. "Yeah? Easier said than done."

Dorian cracked his knuckles, summoning his mana-fueled strength. "Then we make it hard."

Kairin tilted his head. Then he vanished.

I moved on instinct.

In a flash, I spun around, slashing my sword behind me, intercepting his claws by mere inches. The force of the impact sent me skidding backward, my feet digging into the dirt. Joshua lunged forward, swinging both blades at Kairin's midsection, but the monster twisted unnaturally, dodging with ease.

Dorian roared, slamming his fist into the ground. A shockwave erupted, the earth beneath Kairin shattering. The beast stumbled, just for a second.

That was all I needed.

I darted forward, light magic surging through my body. My sword cut through the air, aimed directly at Kairin's neck.

But then—

Black mist swirled around him.

The moment my sword made contact, it passed right through him—like cutting through smoke.

Shit.

Kairin's voice whispered in my ear, "Too slow."

And then pain exploded in my side as he sent me flying with a single, bone-shattering kick.

I barely had time to breathe before I hit the ground, hard.

Joshua's enraged shout filled the air as he attacked again, but Kairin dodged effortlessly. Dorian charged, aiming a massive, mana-infused punch, but the beast side-stepped at the last second, grabbing his arm mid-swing.

Then, with a sickening crack, Kairin snapped Dorian's arm in half.

Dorian's scream echoed through the battlefield.

Joshua and I moved at the same time.

We couldn't let this thing kill anyone else.

We wouldn't let it.

The real fight had just begun.

And this time, we were fighting for survival.